Puppy Time??

labs are wonderful, crazy dogs. Be prepared for a lot of work for a puppy...for about 2-3 years...do you want to take that on in addition to being a mom?

I understand you may have hesitancy about rescuing another dog, but I really think that is the better way to go.

Our neighbor has a chocolate lab (they named her Bailey).
They brought her home as an 8 week old puppy and she's 4 years old and 70 lbs now.
The neighbors have 2 teenage girls, a Mom and Dad.
It takes both their family AND our family to tire that dog out.
She's a sweetheart - but VERY high energy.
They have a pool and the dog swims year round (she LOVES the water!).
In fact she's never had fleas since they'd drown if any ever landed on her.
Just lately the dog has developed allergies (she's very itchy) and she has to be on Benedril (and she's very allergic to bee/wasp stings - last time she got stung she ended up at the vet's over night with an IV to keep her hydrated because she had a high fever and threw up so much).
Just keep in mind - you are going to have to RUN that dog every day.
Some labs shed a little year round while others have several heavy shedding periods during the year.
On average a lab will live about 12 1/2 years (some a little more, some a little less), so this is a long term commitment.
I hope you have a big yard (or a dog park near by) so you can throw a ball or frisbee a long way for her to run/fetch it.

http://www.lovablelabradors.com/category/labrador-care

Yes - get her.
No - don't treat her like a child, she's a dog.
Labs do chew on EVERYTHING so be prepared! And yes, even when they know it's wrong - until like 2yrs old! Do you work? What will you do with her when you are away? What about vacations in the future with the kids? Who will watch the dog for you?
Our choco lab is 13 1/2 yrs old!

You kind of have to look at your kids and see if they are ready as well, and I don't mean if they will feed her and walk her (you've already said that would be your job). My kids desperately want a dog, but at 6 and 3 years old they aren't at the age where they notice their toys laying on the floor, a video game controller left out, a pile of books sitting at the end of the couch... but a dog would!
A puppy of any breed is going to chew and chew and chew for at least the first year of it's life, not only would a puppy in our house chew every lego, book, and frizbee it found on the ground, but it if swallowed said lego we would end up at the vet with a very expensive bill on our hands.
Also, how small is your 4 year old? My 3 year old is in the 5th% and would be knocked right over by any rambunctious puppy, not a good start to a relationship.
I'm also already up to my ears in sweeping, vacuuming, and mopping our house with two kids who spill, drip, and crumble... I know that a dog spilling it's water (or a kid accidentally spilling the dog's water), fur on the carpet, slobber on the bed... would drive me up the wall, just another mess to clean. From previous experience with dogs (we owned two before having kids) I know that having patience with my children is easier for me than having patience with a dog.
All this said, no, I personally would not jump on this offer, but that's my assessment of MY household and MY children. Take a look at your family and see if you are ALL ready for a dog, even if you yourself are planning on being it's primary caregiver it WILL be the family dog.

You have gotten some good advice here.
Labs are hyper
They require a ton of ongoing training
THey chew things when they are 12 years old
Check out her medical condition and get a guarantee that she is dysplasia free. A vert can tell if they have hip dysplasia from puppyhood. If not it could cost you thousands.

A friend of ours got a beautiful, calm lab. Had displasia, she didn't get it checked out before and ended up costing over $6500 for two hip replacements at less than 2 years old.
Just beware. I would be suspicious of a free lab.

first research labs and their problems. Is this a pure breed lab? or is this a lab mix. Find out why the puppy is free if it's a pure breed. Chocolate lab puppies go for anywhere between 300 and 1500 depending on the parents and several other factors for a pure breed to be free there has to be something wrong with it. Make sure this puppy has had his/her shots. There are several NASTY things going around with in puppies. The rescue groups here won't release a puppy until they have had at least their second set of shots with instructions to not let the puppy around other dogs until they have had their third set. Also Worming , puppies are notoriously wormy he/she will likely need to be wormed several times and will need to be fixed. Labs are chewers ( chewing isn't a sign of being mentally ill it's a sign of being a puppy) and are hyper dogs. they MUST have several hrs of exercise a day or they will drive you crazy. A puppy class for a lab is a MUST. Do some research on the breed before you take on a commitment like this. start here http://www.akc.org/breeds/labrador_retriever/

My only concern would be that you might also be allergic to this dog. You say that you took meds and now you have no issues, but simply taking meds for a period of time won't make an allergy to dogs go away (unless you meant that you are currently on meds that keep your allergy to dogs at bay.) Something to consider regarding a dog allergy is that unlike cats, where the allergy is typically to the pelt, with dogs, the typical allergy is to their saliva. So you might have had casual exposure to dogs, as in petting them and such, and not had a reaction, but what you really need to make sure is that if you come in contact with the saliva, do you still react? I'd definitely spend some time with the *actual* dog you'd be adopting, exposing yourself to it's fur/dander AND saliva, and make absolutely sure you're not allergic. It would be a shame to go through all this, get everything ready for a dog, get the dog used to being in your home, and then have to get rid of it due to an allergy that you kinda already knew you had...

I've had 2 Labradors. Now I have a Corgi. Labradors are great, but they are a TON of work. You have to walk them every single day. Their tails are such that if you have anything on your coffee table, it will be on the floor with one swoosh. Remember - big dog -- big poop.
With a dog you can't go on vacation without having someone take her or kennel her. You can't be out shopping and stay out for dinner because you have to walk the dog. I love my dog, but he is the LAST dog I will ever have.
If you are going to get this dog -- and personally, I think you're nuts to do this with 2 little kids -- you should definitely crate train her. We had our Lab puppies before we had kids and we had plenty of time to train them right. Our Corgi came to us when the kids were in 5th and 7th grade. He was free. He is awesome. He is still my last dog.
YMMV
LBC

I say go for it!! You will be a great dog mommy. =) Now lets see if you can figure out who this is. =)

We have a yellow lab. Know labs are hyper dogs. Ours is 6 years old and still very excitable, he has calmed down, but he just loves attention from everyone. Labs are great with kids, ours was here before both our girls, but adjusted great and is amazing with them. We trained ours as a puppy and he is great dog. Good luck in your decision.

We just got two puppies a couple of weeks ago. They are black lab mixes. I love them to death - BUT they are more work than I expected. If I had it to do over, I would probably not get them. I think once they are crate trained and a little older it might be easier, but they are only 11 weeks old...and the fact that we got two. They were only $20 each and the only two puppies from the litter, so we felt bad leaving one. I also feel bad that they are caged most of the day (while we are at work and school) but they aren't big enough to be out yet. If it works for you, go for it!! They are a lot of work, but I think it might settle down once they aren't SO puppy anymore.

Yes get the dog in my opinion. I have 2 dogs. Our first a dachsund mix we got from a shelter in 2005. She was 2 1/2 at the time. We had our first child in 2006, then another in 2007. In 2009, we had an opportunity to get a purebred Golden Retriever puppy from a family whose son was allergic to the dog. We knew we were nuts with at the time, a nearly 3 yo and 1 1/2 yo! But we figured the house will never be perfectly clean and things will be hectic anyways! We had a chance where we had some extra time during the summer of 09 due to job situations to be home and put time into puppy training. I love her and I'm so glad we got her. It has been great for my other dog too. My husband was brought up with labs, they're fantastic and shed less than Goldens. Have fun with your dog W.!!